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Short And Long Term Effects Of The Atomic Bomb On Japan

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The atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of World War II remain one of the most controversial decisions in military history. In this essay, I will explore the justification of dropping the atomic bombs by looking at three main topics: the strategic significance of the atomic bombs in the Pacific theater, the humanitarian impact of the atomic bombs on Japan, and the long-term effects of dropping the atomic bombs on Japan.
The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II were of immense strategic significance. As Freedman argues in his article in the Journal of Strategic Studies (1978), the atomic bombs demonstrated the power of the United States to the world, and in particular to the Japanese. The bombs demonstrated …show more content…

M Tomonaga's (2019) Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament details the destruction of the two Japanese cities and the resulting death toll. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima was estimated to have killed over 140,000 people, with a further 80,000 people killed in Nagasaki. The destruction caused by the atomic bombs was so immense that it is estimated that over 350,000 people were killed or injured in a matter of seconds. Furthermore, the long-term effects of radiation sickness and other related illnesses were felt for years afterwards, leading to an estimated further 200,000 deaths. The destruction caused by the atomic bombs was not limited to the physical destruction of buildings, but also had a devastating psychological effect on the survivors. The psychological trauma of the survivors, their families, and the wider Japanese population was immense. This psychological trauma was felt for many years, and is still felt today. The humanitarian impact of the atomic bombs on Japan was immense, and lessons must be learnt from this horrific …show more content…

According to a study conducted by K Kamiya, K Ozasa, S Akiba, O Niwa, K Kodama, et al. and published in The Lancet in 2015, the effects of the atomic bombs on Japan were far-reaching. In the study, the authors found that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to an increase in physical, mental, and emotional health issues in survivors and their descendants. These issues included increased rates of premature death, cancer, and psychological distress. In addition to these physical and mental health issues, the atomic bombings had a profound economic impact on Japan. It was estimated that the economic damage caused by the atomic bombs was equivalent to the loss of 10 years of economic growth. The authors of the study concluded that the atomic bombs had a long-term and devastating impact on the health and economy of Japan, and that the consequences of their use are still being felt

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642 Words | 3 Pages

More people died during the bombings than they would have if America invaded Japan. In Hiroshima and Nagasaki almost two-hundred thousand people were injured or killed. There are still people suffering the effects of the atomic bombs today. Many people that lived near the impact sites and survived have been entered into a radiation study.

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Name: Course Instructor: Class: Date: Critical Book Review: Prompt and Utter Destruction Introduction Within weeks, word on the US dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki began to spread that the main reason behind the bombs was to save the lives of Americans (Bernard). It was put that hundreds of thousands of American military causalities were saved through the bombings.

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In addition to the bomb affecting their homes and cities, it affected their physical self as well. Document 9 states, “The three main types of physical effects associated with a nuclear explosion are : blast and shock, thermal radiation, and nuclear radiation; each have the potentiality for causing death and injury to exposed persons … among them, apart from genetic effects, are the formation of cataracts, life shortening, and leukemia.” Many life threatening situations can happen to a person if in contact with a nuclear bomb. Which shows how deadly a nuclear bomb is and how it should not be

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Women and children were killed, and entire cities were erased from existence. This clear lack of respect and ethical reasoning highlights that there were more negatives than benefits of the bombs. Document 8 says, “The record of General Macarthur’s operations from 1 March 1944 through 1 May 1945 shows 13,742 US killed compared to 310,165 Japanese killed.” These numbers support the fact that the number of Japanese casualties far exceeded that of America. The decision to drop the atomic bomb added to this total, and made the comparison between American and Japanese deaths even more striking.

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It also had long lasting effects that still impact Japanese lives. In the newspaper by Jack Doherty headlined ¨Atomic Bomb Fury Hits Japan¨ after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the president said, ¨It was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction.¨ Yet, look where it has gone and how much damage it had cost Japan. I encourage you to not listen to these statements as if they were true, and right the wrongs the atomic bombs have done to Japan by unjustifying the act and telling others to do so as

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The effects of an atomic bomb are major. As shown in Document 7 displaying images of children and families saddened and injured after the attack, we can get a better sense of just how destructive the bomb was. Towns that were full of innocent children and women were destroyed along with the infrastructure and advancements that the city had made. The destruction caused by the atomic bomb was not justifiable as there were no soldiers there. Document 6 supports this when it says “ Hiroshima was no longer a city but a burned-over prairie.

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It was a calm August morning in the year 1945, and citizens were out living their lives as normal, getting groceries, playing at the park, and walking to work, little did everyone in what was the beautiful town of Hiroshima know, there was an atomic bomb right above their heads. Boom. Simultaneously 70,000 innocent lives were lost. 30,000 more lives were taken later on due to the atomic bomb. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the two Japanese cities that the United dropped the Atomic Bomb on in 1945 to try & bring an end to World War 2.

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The atomic bomb killed and devastated many innocent people in an attempt to end the war. Document G is a first hand source, giving a true insight into the complete wreckage and carnage the bombs caused. Document B argues that this was the only way to end the war because it was very hard to go against the suicide bombers and flyers in Japan but the bombs only caused more fatalities and destruction to the innocent lives of people across Japan, not leaving any person out of the utter desolation they

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World War II was a global war that lasted six years, involving the majority of the world’s nations. The war introduced some of the most frightening and highly developed weaponry in history and resulted in an estimated 80 million fatalities. During the last stages of the war, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over 180,000 civilians lost their lives (American Yawp). This massacre left many people questioning America’s motivation for using such a destructive weapon.

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The bomb was considered inhuman, as it was considered inhuman. The damage has led to a horrible economic crisis, hunger and poverty, as well as mutations in both adults and children. Michael Barner States “Hundreds of thousands of civilians with no democratic rights to oppose their militarist government, including women and children, were vaporized, turned into charred blobs of carbon, horrifically burned, buried in rubble, speared by flying debris, and saturated with radiation.” Lots of citizens of Japan who have survived the war, have felt major anxiety and shame for bringing their families there, or surviving the bomb unlike their family members, who have been left with long life trauma as well as sickness.

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These casualties all resulted from the explosion of the atomic bomb but there were a few different causes for the deaths. Of the total number of deaths, 25% died due to flash burns that resulted from a person’s exposed skin absorbing the radiant heat emitted by the explosion. Another 20% died due to radiation poisoning, as the gamma rays liberated during the fission process in the atomic bomb had many effects on the human body, among them a decrease in the white blood cell count and deterioration of the bone marrow, resulting in illnesses and severely weakening the body’s immune system. The remaining 55% died mainly due to secondary effects of the explosion, such as falling debris and the massive fire after the

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Radiation sickness was a major killer for the first few weeks after the atomic bomb. The radiation sickness would cause someone to look like they were getting better and then die; this terrified many of the survivors not knowing who was going to die. Another long last effect of the atomic bomb’s radiation was cancer.” The British Mission has estimated that people in the open had a 50% chance of surviving the effects of radiation,” (Hersey 95). Many of the survivors that were exposed to the radiation and survived got cancer later in their life.

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“It is not unlikely that the estimates of killed and wounded in Hiroshima(150,000) and Nagasaki(75,000) are over conservative.” (4.) The effects of using one these weapons are truly catastrophic, “…temperatures of tens of millions of degrees develop in the immediate area of a nuclear detonation. ”(5.) These temperatures vaporize anything and everything in the area of 1.2kms from the impact of the weapon.

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The Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima Table of Contents Introduction 3 Reasons behind chosen Hiroshima and Nagasaki 4 The need for the Allied Forces to bomb Hiroshima 5 Side effect of bomb 6 After the bombing 8 Conclusion 10 Reference 11 Introduction On August 6, 1945, during World War II, the united state dropped the world’s first atomic bomb (they called little boy) over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed a lot of people; estimated tens of thousands more died later of radiation exposure. After three days, again united state dropped another bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people.

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According to U.S. estimated, 60,000 to 70,000 people were killed by the bomb, 140,000 were injured many more were made homeless as a result of the bomb and some of them were missing. A very dangerous radiation reached over 100,000 kilometers. In the blast, thousands of people died instantly. The city is completely destroyed, there are 90,000 buildings and 60,000 of them were completely destroyed by the explosion. In all, approximately 33% or ⅓ of Hiroshima is completely destroyed.

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